OS X Mavericks Dropping Apple Filing Protocol

9 August 2013 3,882 views 7 Comments

Now, before you get upset, Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) isn’t going away, at least not yet. In OS X Mavericks, SMB2 is the new default protocol for file sharing, but Macs running older versions of OS X that use AFP are still supported.

Here is a quick look at Apple’s description of the network file services that are coming in OS X Mavericks, which will ship sometime this Fall:

Network File Systems
OS X [Mavericks] includes a broad set of network file services—SMB, AFP, and NFS—for sharing files between Mac and PC.

SMB2
SMB2 is the new default protocol for sharing files in OS X Mavericks. SMB2 is superfast, increases security, and improves Windows compatibility.
— Efficient. SMB2 features Resource compounding, allowing multiple requests to be sent in a single request. In addition, SMB2 can use large reads and writes to make better use of faster networks as well as large MTU support for blazing speeds on 10 Gigabit Ethernet. It aggressively caches file and folder properties and uses opportu- nistic locking to enable better caching of data. It’s even more reliable, thanks to the ability to transparently reconnect to servers in the event of a temporary disconnect.
— Secure. SMB2 supports Extended Authentication Security using Kerberos and NTLMv2.
— Compatible. SMB2 is automatically used to share files between two Mac computers running OS X Mavericks, or when a Windows client running Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 connects to your Mac. OS X Mavericks maintains support for AFP and SMB network file-sharing protocols, automatically selecting the appropriate protocol as needed.

AFP
The Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) is the traditional network file service used on the Mac. Built-in AFP support provides connectivity with older Mac computers and Time Machine–based backup systems.

NFS
NFS v3 and v4 support in OS X allows for accessing UNIX and Linux desktop and server systems. With AutoFS, you can now specify automount paths for your entire organization using the same standard automounter maps supported by Linux and Solaris. For enhanced security, NFS can use Kerberos authentication as an alternative to UNIX UID-based authentication.

Join the conversation on the OS X 10.9 Mavericks Facebook Page.

Again, the default networking protocol in OS X Mavericks is SMB2, which is the same standard created and used by Microsoft. Interestingly enough, with OS X Lion, Apple created its own take on SMB, SMBX, in order to avoid the draconian strictures of the GPLv3 license.

Apple Filing Protocol: Not Looking Back

Now, Apple’s adopting SMB2 as used by Microsoft and it’s good that Cupertino has chosen to avoid the “not invented here” trap (i.e. ADB, NuBus, PDS, ADC, etc) that has hobbled it in the past.

Although Apple Filing Protocol (Wikipedia) has changed greatly over the years, notably adopting TCP/IP in the ’90s, AFP traces its roots back to AppleShare and the original Macintosh of 1984.

Additionally, OS X Mavericks is transitioning to other more modern OS-level industry standards, including OpenGL 4.1 and OpenCL 1.2.

Via: AppleInsider
Source: OS X Mavericks Core Technology Overview (pdf)

Related posts:
— Can My Mac Run OS X 10.9 Mavericks
— What’s New in OS X 10.9 Mavericks
— New in OS X 10.9: OpenGL 4.1, OpenCL 1.2
— What’s New in OS X Mail 7
— Tonymacx86 Publishes 2013 CustoMac Guide

7 Comments »

MRT said:

I’ve been told by a developer friend that Printer Sharing isn’t included in the Mavericks betas. Hard luck if you’ve been relying on it.

# 9 August 2013 at 3:46 am

smp said:

MRT - I’d say your friend is uninformed.

# 9 August 2013 at 10:23 am

MRT said:

Err, well, ‘he’ is far closer to me than anyone else. (Think NDA)

# 9 August 2013 at 12:29 pm

Doug said:

Good article until the last stupid statement!

ADB predates any sort of mouse/keyboard standard (ala ps2) put out by PC vendors and was superior to all standards until it was replaced by USB. NuBus was an open 32bit bus mastering protocol in use when the best PC’s had to offer was 8 bit ISA slots. It would be years before the combination of MCA and EISA would even come close to NuBus (MCA was actually superior but the industry followed EISA go figure) and it took PCI (which apple adopted) to best the interface. PDS was essentially what a decade later became VESA and was only proprietary because the chip architecture apple used 68000 instead of x86 and because both are tied to the processor, each would be locked to the chip type.

Now I’ll give you that ADC, which was simply a hybrid of DVI and Power, was a bit overly ambitious but had it been adopted it would have made display interfaces so much nicer. But you left out SCSI an open technology that I still to this day can’t figure out how it didn’t catch on. Firewire, another industry standard left behind through no fault of Apple. And today we are seeing it again with Displayport/Thunderbolt.

These are not cases of NOT CREATED HERE. These are cases of being ahead of the curve and not being willing to go backward to stick with the pack.

I wish Apple would license the lightning interface as a new USB standard because it is the best connector I have used sense the introduction of magsafe.

# 9 August 2013 at 2:21 pm

smp said:

MRT - it is in my friend’s, so I don’t know why it isn’t in his

# 9 August 2013 at 2:34 pm

the rocr (author) said:

SWIM’s Maverick Mac shares printers just fine.

# 9 August 2013 at 5:14 pm

Khaled said:

I want AppleTalk!

# 10 August 2013 at 8:15 am